Supplement to SIEG SC4 Instruction Manual (Revised) with Gear Change Charts, Recommended Cutting Speeds and Other Helpful Information
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Supplement to SIEG SC4 Instruction Manual (Revised) With Gear Change Charts, Recommended Cutting Speeds and Other Helpful Information Robert Ackert 5/21/2014 Supplement to the instruction manual supplied with the SIEG SC4 bench lathe with information on controlling carriage movement, changing gears, gear charts, recommended cutting, drilling and reaming speeds and tooling, detailed instructions for cutting standard thread forms and mounting alternate chucks. Supplement to SIEG SC4 Instruction Manual Copyright Notice and Terms of Use Copyright © 2009 and 2014 by Robert Ackert, Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada. All rights reserved. This publication is protected by copyright. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without the permission of the copyright holder, except as authorized below. This publication may be reproduced in its entirety or in part for personal and educational purposes as long as any fees charged do not exceed the actual cost of reproduction, and as long as this copyright notice is included in any such reproduction. Any such reproduction does not imply the transference of any other form of copyright licence. © Robert Ackert Page 1 Disclaimer/Preface This supplement to the Instruction Manual supplied with the SIEG SC4 Bench Lathe was prepared as part of the learning experience with a newly purchased SIEG SC4 Bench Lathe. The information and data was compiled by means of direct measurements, calculations and trial and error and, where possible, verified using published information. While a lot of care was taken to provide accurate information, the author cannot be held responsible for material contained herein which may be inaccurate or out of date in regard to any other lathe than his own. This supplement is provided to help other hobbyists and non- professionals to learn how to use and enjoy their SIEG SC4 lathes. No representation is made that any procedure or data provided here-in represents “best practice”. The use of the information is entirely at the risk of the reader. Shop practice and especially the use of power tools can be dangerous. The reader is cautioned to learn and practice all safety procedures relevant to the work at hand. Do not operate any power tool until after you have read and understand the safety procedures outlined in the instruction manual provided by the manufacture. The author is neither an employee nor an agent of SIEG or any other company referenced in this document and he does not sell or represent any product discussed. Any opinions expressed are his own. The SIEG CS4 is a robust lathe with a 1000 watt variable speed motor that provides plenty of power for a small lathe. The controls are simple and intuitive (once you have read SIEG’s manual and this supplement). Dynamic motor braking and auto reversing are appreciated features, especially when cutting screw threads, as is the power cross feed. The machine lacks a quick change gear box. However, the two feed rates possible using the half nut and power transfer levers as outlined in section 5 largely make up for this lack and changing the gears in the SC4 for thread cutting is simple and straight forward. The SC4 also lacks a reversing lever for the leadscrew. As it is, you have to swap a gear and a spacer on the spindle drive to reverse the leadscrew rotation relative to the spindle, as shown in section 6.1. This is a small compromise and the gear change is quite easy and not frequently required. Robert Ackert October, 2012 Revision February 9, 2014 The main revision is to the gear change chart for metric threading Section 6.4 and to the text in Section 6. The previous version included some gear combinations that would not fit onto the lathe due to gears interfering with each other and other parts of the machine. A new “out of the box” modification has been added to Section 4 (replacing the cap screw holding the gear cover closed with a thumb screw). Some minor text revisions were also made for clarity and a few typing errors were corrected. Robert Ackert February, 2014 Revision May 21, 2014 This revision is not so much a revision as an addition in that the only change is the addition of a fifth recommended “out-of-the-box” modification on page 8. Robert Ackert May, 2014 © Robert Ackert Page 2 Supplement to SIEG SC4 Instruction Manual Contents Copyright Notice and Terms of Use ......................................................................................................... 1 Disclaimer/Preface .................................................................................................................................. 2 1. Introduction .................................................................................................................................... 5 2. Cleaning Lathe Prior to First Use and Break-in Procedure ................................................................. 5 3. Lubrication ...................................................................................................................................... 6 4. Recommended Out-of-the-Box Modifications .................................................................................. 6 5. Control of Carriage movement ......................................................................................................... 9 6. Gear Changing ................................................................................................................................. 9 6.1 Reversing the Rotation of the Leadscrew ..................................................................................... 12 6.2 Using the Gear Change Charts ...................................................................................................... 13 6.3 Gear Change Chart – Inch............................................................................................................. 14 6.4 Gear Change Chart – Metric ......................................................................................................... 15 7. Suggested Cutting, Drilling and Reaming Speeds ............................................................................ 16 7.1 Working in Inches ........................................................................................................................ 16 7.2 Working in Metric Units ............................................................................................................... 17 7.3 HSS versus Carbide Tooling........................................................................................................ 18 8. Threading on the SIEG SC4 Lathe ................................................................................................... 19 8.1 An Introduction to Thread Cutting ............................................................................................. 19 8.2 Cutting External Right Hand Threads on the SC4 ......................................................................... 21 8.3 Cutting External Left Hand Threads on the SC4 ........................................................................... 23 8.4 Cutting Internal Threads on the SC4 ............................................................................................. 24 8.5 Cutting Obsolete Threads Forms .................................................................................................. 25 8.6 Cutting Acme Threads .................................................................................................................. 26 8.7 Other Threading Setup Considerations and Situations .................................................................. 26 © Robert Ackert Page 3 9. Parting Off on the SIEG SC4 Lathe .................................................................................................. 27 10. Chuck Mount and Changing Chucks............................................................................................ 28 11. Things You May Want to Buy (and Where to Buy Them) ............................................................ 29 Appendix 1 – Chatter ............................................................................................................................. 31 Appendix 2 – Cutting Speed Tables ........................................................................................................ 33 © Robert Ackert Page 4 Supplement to SIEG SC4 Instruction Manual By Robert Ackert 1. Introduction This document is a supplement to the instruction manual supplied with the SIEG SC4 lathe. It does not replace the manual provided by SIEG. Please read it thoroughly to learn the safety precautions and basic machine operating functions prior to using your lathe. However, the supplied manual lacks some important information which this document endeavors to supply. I recommend that you read both documents prior to using your lathe. 2. Cleaning Lathe Prior to First Use and Break-in Procedure WD40 and paper towels work well to clean off the protective shipping grease. The 311 g spray can and one roll of paper towels is all you need. WD40 is safe to use following the instructions on the can and it leaves a protective lubricating film on metal surfaces. However, it does not replace machine oil as a lubricant when operating the lathe. After cleaning the external surfaces, follow the lubrication instructions given in section 3. The break in procedure is very simple. Put a few drops of machine oil through